鸿鹄之志

Pronunciation: hóng hú zhī zhì Literal meaning: Swan's ambition

Origin & Usage

Chen Sheng, hired out as a farm labourer, told the others in the field that if any of them grew rich they should not forget the rest. They laughed at a hired hand talking about wealth. He answered: how should the sparrow and the swallow know the ambition (志) of the great swan (鸿鹄)? Within a few years he had raised the first rebellion against Qin. He was also dead within months of raising it, which the Records of the Grand Historian records without comment. The phrase means ambition that the people around you are not equipped to recognise.

Examples

English: "His ambitions are as lofty as those of a swan soaring in the sky."

Chinese: 他的志向像天上的鸿鹄一样高远。